Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. (1942)
|contributors=AMK152 |birth_year=1942 |birth_month=11 |birth_day=20 |birth_locality=Scranton, Pennsylvania |birth_nation-subdiv1=Pennsylvania |birth_nation=United States |ifmarried-g1=true |wedding1_year=1966 |wedding1_month=8 |wedding1_day=27 |ifmarried-g2=true |wedding2_year=1977 |wedding2_month=6 |wedding2_day=17 |globals= }} Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden Jr. ( ; born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who became the 47th Vice President of the United States, jointly elected twice with President Barack Obama, and in office since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Biden represented Delaware as a United States Senator from 1973 until becoming Vice President in 2009. Family Biden was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania,Witcover, Joe Biden, p. 5. to Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden (née Finnegan; 1917–2010) and Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden Sr. (1915–2002). He was the first of four siblings in a Catholic family, with a sister, Valerie, and two brothers, James and Frank, following.Witcover, Joe Biden, p. 9. His mother was of either Irish or Northern Irish descent, with roots variously attributed to County Louth or County Londonderry. His paternal grandparents, Mary Elizabeth (Robinette) and Joseph H. Biden, an oil businessman from Baltimore, Maryland, were of English, French, and Irish ancestry.Witcover, Joe Biden, p. 8. His paternal great-great-great grandfather, William Biden, was born in Sussex, England, and immigrated to the United States. His maternal great-grandfather, Edward Francis Blewitt, was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate. Biden's father had been very well-off earlier in his life, but suffered several business reversals by the time Biden was born. For several years, the family had to live with Biden's maternal grandparents, the Finnegans. When the Scranton area went into economic decline during the 1950s, Biden's father could not find enough work. In 1953, the Biden family moved to an apartment in Claymont, Delaware, where they lived for a few years before moving to a house in Wilmington, Delaware. Joe Biden Sr. then did better as a used car salesman, and the family's circumstances were middle class.Almanac of American Politics 2008, p. 364. Entry to politics Biden became an attorney in 1969, and was elected to the New Castle County council in 1970. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, and became the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history. Notes --> References Footnotes Books * * * * * * * * * External links *http://www.ancestornetwork.ie/the-irish-ancestry-of-vice-president-joe-biden/ __SHOWFACTBOX__ * Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:20th-century American politicians Category:21st-century American politicians Category:21st-century American writers Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Biden family Category:County council members and commissioners in Delaware Category:Delaware Democrats Category:Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football players Category:Delaware lawyers Category:Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Category:Democratic Party United States Senators Category:Democratic Party Vice Presidents of the United States Category:Living people Category:Obama administration cabinet members Category:People from Claymont, Delaware Category:People from Wilmington, Delaware Category:People involved in plagiarism controversies Category:Politicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Public defenders Category:Real property lawyers Category:Recipients of St. George's Order of Victory Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Category:Syracuse University College of Law alumni Category:United States presidential candidates, 1988 Category:United States presidential candidates, 2008 Category:United States Senators from Delaware Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 2008 Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 2012 Category:University of Delaware alumni Category:Vice Presidents of the United States Category:Widener University faculty Category:People from New Castle County, Delaware